THOUGH there may be nothing new in bobbies on bicycles -- the sight was once so familiar that the 'police bike' was a type in itself -- their return in Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale is bound to be a welcome departure.

For the bicycle police may provide the public with the best of both worlds in the fight against crime -- the familiar reassuring sight of the bobby on the beat combined with the extra speed that the foot patrols lack.

The switch that is taking place in the force's Pennine Division is an extension of the community policing that residents have already welcomed -- a system which relies on traditional and proven methods of officers knowing the area they patrol, being visible to the public and benefiting from the confidence in the police that is fostered throughout the neighbourhoods that have their own identifiable bobby.

That valuable link suffered with the increase of motorised patrols and the closure of smaller police stations -- and the restoration of community policing is a recognition that it is what the public wants and what the fight against crime needs.

Now, with ten of the 18 community beat officers in the division opting to carry out bicycle patrols in addition to their normal ones on foot, the benefits of their accessibility and visibility are added to by the swifter responsiveness that the bicycle provides.

And having two wheels rather than four means that they can get to places where a car cannot go and because of that, are quite often the haunts of offenders.

It is a blend that makes officers an even greater threat the the lawless and keeps them and the public mutually in touch and working together. Every extension of the system in East Lancashire will be welcomed as a deterrent to crime and a sign that our streets may become safer.